TV Madness: Can AMC’s ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ upset ‘The Walking Dead’?

For today’s edition of our TV Madness tournament, we’re looking at two shows that air on the same network in AMC, but in many ways really could not be more different from one another. You’ve got a show in “The Walking Dead” that is a ratings juggernaut, and then one in “Halt and Catch Fire” that was a toss-up for renewal before AMC decided to go ahead and give it a third season.

The great thing about tournament brackets, though, is that everyone has a shot! While we’re considering the Lee Pace series a #8 seed the ultimate Cinderella story in our bracket, anything can happen! Your votes determine which show will move on to the next round. Both are worthy! As the photo above indicates, voting will remain open until March 10. After that, we’ll start preparing the brackets for the second round.

“The Walking Dead” (1) – It’s the highest-rated show on TV in the 18-49 demographic, and it also has an enormous online following for good reason: It’s fantastic. There are few other shows out there that are this dramatic, compelling, and interesting, and Scott M. Gimple has done an especially spectacular job the past few weeks preparing us as viewers for what is to come: Negan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan will presumably make his first appearance as the feared villain later this season, and as fans of the comics know, there is a reason to almost immediately fear his arrival. It’s certainly possible that he could commit one of the more shocking acts that we’ve seen on the show to date.

“Halt and Catch Fire” (8) – Sure, the ratings are much lower for this story about the origins of the computer / internet gaming age, but the show is equally fantastic in its own right and its loyal audience is the only reason it’s still around! Just like Joe, Gordon, Donna, and Cameron, this is a show certainly capable of defying the odds. We like to give a little bit of scoop in these TV Madness articles in terms of what is coming up, but it’s admittedly a little more difficult here given that the origins of season 3 have been so much under wraps. What we can remind you of, though, is that we are beginning a journey that will bring the characters to Silicon Valley, a new world with new surprises.

Now, we turn this over to you.